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Keep Writing: Poem Challenge

So I know it says continue the challenge daily and I have, however I think I will post them in groups of 3, as I am learning that my thoughts are at times short. My first one for example I felt complete after 2 short lines, I thought to myself that’s not enough, I stared at it for maybe an hour, adding and deleting and then I realized no, there are no rules, well there are for writing a sonnet (which I have never actually written and quickly learned is a complicated poem, and am proud to have written my first sonnet, or an essay which has 3 bodies, a beginning, middle and end that should tie it all together with the main point at the beginning, but this is simply a poem, titled about me and it felt complete as is. If anyone has thoughts or suggestions, tips, I would much appreciate them in the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

Namaste,

Sheri

About Me

Tall, lean, sprite, keen

Dark, cold, quiet, bold

By Sheri Hall

A Sonnet on Grief

The well inside my heart has run dry

With the loss of you it beats in spasm

However the faucets are full overflowing my eyes

I feel the bitterness of your sarcasm

Hurtfully thoughtful words fill my cards

Grievances litter upon my doorstep

No one knows how my heart has broken in shards

All night with terrors of events past have not slept

I wonder when this nightmare will end

Yesterday today past present and future

So long it will take for my heart to mend

Or does it not but instead has changed by culture

Society says we must get over it

The opposite is what we feel as grief is freshly lit

By Sheri Hall

Being Alone

Solitude can be such a quiet peace

Solitude by thy self we pity a lonely place

With heart mind soul grounded you are not truly alone

Thoughts keep you wondering

Memories keep you smiling

The brain keeps you guessing

If we are connected to ourselves, our bodies

Are we ever really alone?

By Sheri Hall

***A reminder of the challenge itself, and what will come next. #5,6,7

I’m glad to see you are doing the December challenge. I agree, those smile we still while alone and memories which flash keep us company so we are truly never alone. And I do think the first poem, works as it is. The two lines rounded themselves up. 🙂

Thank you so much for sharing these, Sheri xoxoxo
I recently came across a ‘newer’ book that I hadn’t heard of before and thought you might be interested in (if you haven’t already read). It’s called “Permission to Mourn: A New Way to Grieve” by Tom Zuba. I have not personally lost a child to death. I did comment on a post a while back (I stumbled across your blog when looking for a particular Thich Nhat Hahn quote) & I believe I shared that I’ve been almost 100% estranged from my oldest son for 4.5 years, since I left my ex-husband. My son is 21 now. I would never, ever compare it to the grief of losing a child to death.. but it has been a Different Sort of Grieving that I’ve had to experience, a strange open-ended feeling. I try to live in the moment and embrace all of the good, all of the blessings, my reconnection with my second son (now 18), my hugely unexpected blessing of triplet baby boys (15 months today). I also try to be as accepting of the current situation with my oldest son and trust that things will work out the way they’re meant to… without “holding my breath” too much about the timing.
Anyway… I thought if you hadn’t heard of Tom Zuba (also has an active Facebook page) that you might be interested in checking him out. He lost a daughter who was 20 months (rather suddenly), then about nine years later his wife died, and about two years after that, his 13-year-old son was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died within a few months. (Just sharing those details to say he’s no stranger to grief himself …)

Wow! Rachel, I imagine that not seeing your son in almost 5 years but knowing he is out there would be equally hard to deal with, your right it is a different kind of grief, but we grieve many things, divorce, job loss, etc. I so appreciate your book recommendation and am looking for to finding it and reading. Its a journey that never ends and I grow with every new read. I truly appreciate it. Take care. Hang in there, you must be so busy with twins! All the best for the holidays and new year.💚

If you think of it, you’ll have to let me know what you think of the book (I think it’s short enough you could probably read the whole thing in an hour or so). I bought a copy for myself after I saw it mentioned on a friend’s Facebook page (she lost her son four years ago to a very tragic ‘sort of car accident’ – he was 13 at the time and this year would be his senior year of high school. He was the youngest of three boys).
It’s a Very Easy Read (& based on a lot of the Amazon reviews, a good/appropriate one for new grief…), his style is kind of like stream-of-consciousness.. or prose poetry, maybe. Very much a glimpse straight into his innermost thoughts. What I love the most is the acknowledging the full range of emotions/thoughts while at the same time encouraging hope and happiness.. And the idea of our relationships continuing in a very active/evolving way (i.e., not ‘just’ memories, stories, loved ones frozen/trapped in time). Yes, this is a Very Busy House … triplets.. so THREE little guys all just learning to walk and also starting to explore their climbing skills and we’re not fully baby-proofed just yet! We debated about a full Christmas tree this year.. And since we’re now just 9 days away, looks like our “tree” is going to be the stuffed/dancing/singing/light-up tree that someone brought the boys last year… They love it! We strung up some lights inside, up high, have a few other decorations and have been playing lots of holiday music. And took them for a ride to see this outrageously-lit-up house near us (the guy won a national contest 2yrs ago.. Weaver’s Wonderland… It was SO cute to hear our guys each doing their own version of “Wowowowow..wowwww!” when they saw it.
Wishing you and your family a peaceful holiday season xoxoxo!